


Su'Cuyi

by InvisibleSilence



Series: The Mandalorian Entanglement [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family, Female Obi-Wan Kenobi, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mando'a Language (Star Wars), Obi-Wan Kenobi Raises Leia Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi Raises Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala Lives, Post-Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Secret Relationship, but she's in a coma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvisibleSilence/pseuds/InvisibleSilence
Summary: “Pregnant, her body must still appear,” Yoda said. “Hidden, safe, the children must be kept.”Obi-Wan couldn’t believe it had come to this. The last few weeks felt like a fever dream. The Outer Rim Sieges, Echo, Ahsoka, the Battle of Coruscant, Anakin killing Dooku, her being sent after Grievous, Order Sixty-Six, Anakin Falling, fighting Anakin, Padmé almost dying in childbirth and ending up in an unexplainable coma…it had been so much, so fast.“Split up, they should be,” Yoda recommended.“No,” Obi-Wan said, jerking up from where she was half-slumped on the table. “We can’t split them up. Both Naboo and Tatooine consider splitting up twins a taboo. I won’t do that to Anakin and Padmé’s children. I promised Padmé that I would take care of them. I’ll take them. I have a safe place we can go. "No one would find them if she went to her husband. No one knew they were married, after all.
Relationships: Boba Fett & Jango Fett, Boba Fett & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jango Fett/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: The Mandalorian Entanglement [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944466
Comments: 57
Kudos: 1245





	Su'Cuyi

“Pregnant, her body must still appear,” Yoda said. “Hidden, safe, the children must be kept.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t believe it had come to this. The last few weeks felt like a fever dream. The Outer Rim Sieges, Echo, Ahsoka, the Battle of Coruscant, Anakin killing Dooku, her being sent after Grievous, Order Sixty-Six, Anakin Falling, fighting Anakin, Padmé almost dying in childbirth and ending up in an unexplainable coma…it had been so much, so fast. Even with Yoda and Bail explaining what had happened on Coruscant, she still couldn’t quite believe that the Republic was gone. The death of the Jedi was harder to deny, since the mental backlash had nearly killed her after her troops – _her troops, her 212 th_ – had failed to do so.

“She’ll need to be hidden somewhere as well, especially if we’re faking that she and her children all died,” Bail said. “I can take her to Alderaan, hide her away in one of the properties no one knows we own. That doesn’t solve what to do with the children, though.”

“Split up, they should be,” Yoda recommended.

“No,” Obi-Wan said, jerking up from where she was half-slumped on the table. “We can’t split them up. Both Naboo and Tatooine consider splitting up twins a taboo. I won’t do that to Anakin and Padmé’s children. I promised Padmé that I would take care of them. I’ll take them. I have a safe place I can go. No one will be looking for a mother with her family, they’ll be looking for a lone woman. Once I get the twins settled, I can fake my death in some sort of anti-Empire destructive suicide.” She smiled bitterly, remembering the Hardeen ordeal that had driven a rift between her and Anakin in the first place. “It won’t be the first time.”

“Brighter, they will be together,” Yoda pointed out. “Separated, harder to find, they will be. And if found, one is, the other, safe will be.”

“I’m not separating them, Master Yoda,” Obi-Wan said firmly. “I’m taking Luke and Leia. I can hide their presence, so long as I’m with them. If Padmé…if Padmé ever wakes up, then we can figure out how to reunite her with her children.”

Yoda stared at her sternly. She stared back, bringing every ounce of stubbornness she had to bear – which was no mild amount. Just because she didn’t blatantly flaunt her pig-headedness like her Master and Padawan had didn’t mean she was any less stubborn when it came to her beliefs. She _had_ left the Order for them before.

Yoda finally sighed.

“Agree, I do,” he said. “Safe, you will keep them?”

“I failed to keep Padmé safe,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I failed to keep Ahsoka safe. I failed to keep Anakin safe. But I will not fail to keep Anakin’s children safe.”

“Where will you go?” Bail asked.

Obi-Wan shook her head.

“It’s better if you don’t know. The best-kept secret is the one nobody knows.”

“How should I get in contact with you? I presume you won’t carry any kind of comm that can be traced,” Bail said.

Obi-Wan thought quickly.

“Give me your most private comm code. I’ll call you from a random location six months from now, and from there we’ll have yearly check-ins. If Padmé wakes up…it will be hard for her, knowing she cannot find her children for months, but it will also be the safest if we are not often in contact,” she said.

“Strong, the Force runs, in the Skywalker line,” Yoda said. “Hope we can, that defeat Darth Sidious, the children one day will. Until the time is right, disappear, we must.”

“We’ll need to contact Sabé,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “She’s the only person who can pretend to be Padmé – she can’t be her own corpse; it’s not safe to take her off the machines.”

“Will Sabé go along with it?” Bail asked.

“She was more loyal to Padmé than anyone and can pass as Padmé’s identical twin. Anakin couldn’t tell them apart without cheating and checking their Force signatures, and if we put Sabé into a hibernation trance and then mask her Force-signature, she should be able to pass as Padmé’s corpse even if Darth Sidious attends the funeral himself,” Obi-Wan said.

Yoda hummed. “Morichro, Master Yaddle taught me,” he said. “Take care of it, I will.”

“You should leave, Obi-Wan,” Bail said. “As soon as we arrive on Naboo, you should take the twins and go.”

“Only if I’ve already gotten Sabé to you,” Obi-Wan said. “I’ll take a fighter, get her here first, so Master Yoda can get her ready while you report to the Queen. I’ll take the twins, and the droids, and vanish.”

“The droids too?” Bail asked in surprise.

“Threepio is a blabbermouth,” Obi-Wan said bluntly. “And Artoo is persistent. They were devoted to Anakin and Padmé, and they’ll be equally devoted to keeping the children safe. I’ll give them new paintjobs and designations, until we get to where we’re going, and then no one will recognize them as the Senator’s droids. Besides, with two babies, I’ll need an extra set of hands. I’m sure Threepio can learn to change diapers.”

Bail grimaced but nodded. “I can have someone paint them while you collect Sabé. Take the piece of junk you acquired from Grievous. It can’t be traced back to us, so no one will care if it’s found later and scrapped.”

“Watch the twins, I will,” Yoda said. “Eat something, you should, Obi-Wan.”

“I’m not hungry,” Obi-Wan replied automatically.

“Eat a ration bar anyway,” Bail said gently. “You’ll be more alert if you’re fed. The twins need you healthy.”

Obi-Wan accepted the ration bar pressed into her hands and ate it mechanically as she made her way to the room the twins were in – guarded by Artoo, Threepio, and the nanny droid Bail had just bought off the med-center the twins were born in.

She finished up the bar and dropped the wrapper into the garbage chute outside the twins’ room before entering.

“Hello there, little ones,” she said softly, brushing her Force presence against the tiny lights in front of her. She and Yoda had masked them, but they were impossible to ignore when they were right in front of her.

The infants felt happy to see her, at least, even though they were asleep.

“I’m going away from a little while,” she continued, “but I’ll come back to get you, and then we’re going to go to a new home, where we’ll all be safe.”

“Excuse me, Master Kenobi?” C-3PO said from behind her. “Could you tell us the state of Mistress Padmé? Artoo and I have been quite worried.”

Obi-Wan grimaced as the turned around. Threepio looked anxious – she hadn’t known a droid _could_ look anxious before meeting Threepio – and had his hand resting on Artoo’s dome. The astromech beeped sadly.

“I’m afraid that Padmé has fallen into a coma,” Obi-Wan said gravely. “The doctors fear that she will never wake.”

“And young Master Luke and young Mistress Leia?” Threepio asked.

“I will be taking them with me into hiding,” Obi-Wan said. “It’s not safe for them to stay with Padmé, or even go to Padmé’s family. We’ll be faking Padmé’s death, hopefully with Sabé’s help. If the two of you wish to accompany me, I would appreciate the help with the twins.”

The two droids looked at each other. Artoo beeped.

“We would be happy to accompany you to serve the young master and mistress,” Threepio said, looking back at her.

Obi-Wan smiled weakly at them.

“Thank you. I’m leaving now, to take a fighter to Naboo to recruit Sabé. When Bail’s ship lands in Theed, I’ll sneak Sabé onto the ship and the five of us _off._ During the flight, Bail is going to have someone repaint you both so that you’re less recognizable. You’ll need fake names as well, but you’re welcome to choose those yourselves.”

Artoo let out a trill of beeps and bleats.

Threepio translated, “I will be P-AM1. Artoo will be D4-L4.

Obi-Wan blinked at the names, trying to keep tears from falling.

“I…They’re good names,” she said simply. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

She had to call upon the Force to keep her serene Jedi mask as she took spare clothes from one of Bail’s attendants and changed in the guest room she’d been allotted. Yoda was in the same room, technically, but he took up next to no space, especially considering she’d shared smaller beds with Ana- with him.

The clothes she wore were simple, but colorful enough to blend in on Naboo. Her hair was a different matter; she changed it from her usual crown of braids into simple bun at the base of her neck before securing it all beneath a headscarf. Redheads only made up 1% of the human population, including human subspecies like the Stewjoni. Her hair was her most recognizable feature, outside of her robes and lightsaber, so the best thing to do was cover it up.

By the time she made it to the starfighter – the one that had formerly belonged to Grievous – Bail’s men had changed the transponder codes and stripped the paint that identified it as a Separatist ship.

Bail and Yoda were both waiting to see her off.

“Be careful,” Bail warned, hugging her briefly.

She then knelt so that she was closer to Yoda’s eye level.

“Right, Senator Organa is,” Yoda said. “Careful, you must be. More lives than your own, you carry. Sleep, you should, while in hyperspace you are.”

“I’m not sure I can,” Obi-Wan admitted. “And meditation – it _hurts_ , Master.”

Yoda’s ears drooped.

“Wounded, the Force is, from the deaths of the Jedi,” he said sadly. “Sooth its pain, we must. Remind it, we should, that there still are those who hear it. Besides,” he said, more firmly, “if newborns you will take, rest you will require.”

“I’ll try,” Obi-Wan said.

“Do or do not,” Master Yoda ordered. “There is no try.”

Obi-Wan sighed.

“Grandmaster, at this point, I think all we can do _is_ try.”

She didn’t bother waiting for a reply before climbing into the starfighter and sealing the cockpit. She fired up the engines and soared out of the hangar.

A few hours later, she was walking through the streets of Naboo to where Sabé lived when not with Padmé on Coruscant, cloaked in the Force and invisible to all watchers. She didn’t use the Force to speed her movements, as much as the extra time would have been helpful. It would have been using energy she didn’t have.

Obi-Wan only revealed herself as she stepped onto Sabé’s street, though she nimbly avoided the cameras. She kept her headscarf low on her forehead as she knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door cracked open. Obi-Wan could see Sabé in the crack, half-hidden behind the door, presumably with a blaster in hand. Her eyes widened when she realized who was on her stoop.

“Get in here!” she hissed, opening the door fully. “Before someone sees you!”

Obi-Wan stepped in, as ordered, only for Sabé to slam the door behind her.

“I know that the Jedi would never betray the Republic, and I know that Padmé would never willingly vote for the Republic to become an Empire, so what the hell is going on, Obi-Wan?” the handmaiden demanded.

“I only know so much,” Obi-Wan sighed. “I was on Utapau, killing Grievous, when everything went down. From what I’ve gathered from Bail and Master Yoda, Palpatine told Anakin that he was the Sith Lord.” Sabé gasped, but Obi-Wan continued on. “Anakin told Master Windu, who proceeded to take a third of the Jedi Council to confront the Chancellor in his office. It wasn’t an assassination attempt, like he claimed. It was an arrest. He refused and killed them all – I don’t know how. It’s not like we were able to recover the bodies. Anakin…” she choked up. “Anakin helped him. He joined Palpatine, became his apprentice. Anakin then led the 501st against the Jedi Temple. I went inside, Sabé,” she told her friend, who was shaking her head in disbelief. “I saw the holorecordings, both of Anakin killing the younglings and him kneeling to Palpatine as the Sith Lord. At the same time, approximately, all the clones fired on the Jedi.” She grimaced, closing her eyes. “Even mine.”

She started when Sabé grabbed her in a tight hug.

“I’m so sorry, Obi,” she whispered.

Obi-Wan could feel Sabé’s damp cheeks against her own.

“There’s more,” she said quietly.

Sabé took a deep breath and stepped away. “The Senate? The Empire?” she asked.

“From what Bail said, they had no choice but to vote Palpatine in as Emperor, or be denounced as traitors,” Obi-Wan said grimly. “After I went to the Temple…Yoda went to confront the Emperor. He sent me after Anakin.”

“No,” Sabé breathed, reaching out to hold Obi-Wan’s hand.

Obi-Wan nodded tightly.

“He wasn’t on Coruscant, or in the sector at all, so I went to the only person whom he might have told where he was going.”

“Padmé,” Sabé said grimly.

Obi-Wan nodded again.

“She didn’t tell me, of course,” Obi-Wan said regretfully. Her friend never would have gotten hurt if she’d just told her. “But she did tell me she was pregnant with Anakin’s baby.”

Sabé grimaced.

“I did know that,” she admitted. “That’s why I’m here…to prepare for the baby’s birth.”

“It’s too late for that,” Obi-Wan said, “but I’m getting to that. I told Padmé about the Temple, about the younglings Anakin killed. I knew she’d go straight to him, so I stowed away on her ship. She only took C-3PO with her and flew to Mustafar – have you heard of it?”

Sabé shook her head.

“Lava planet. There are some mining facilities there, but it’s primarily barren. The Separatist leaders had hidden themselves there. Anakin killed them all. Padmé met him before he could leave, confronted him about everything. He offered to kill Palpatine, make her Empress. She asked him to run away with her. She’d almost gotten through to him…and then I revealed my presence. I thought I could help. I was wrong. Anakin accused Padmé of betraying him, for all that she hadn’t know I was there. He…Sabé, he hurt her. He used the Force to choke her until she was unconscious. I was scared he’d killed her.”

Sabé gripped her hand tighter.

“But she’s okay, right? Padmé’s okay?” she demanded, almost desperately.

“She’s alive, Sabé,” Obi-Wan said. “She’s – she’s in a coma. We don’t know if she’ll ever wake up.”

Sabé wilted.

“By Shiraya,” she said. “All from what Anakin did to her?”

“Not entirely,” Obi-Wan said. “After what he did to Padmé – I didn’t want to duel him. I was hoping, between Padmé and I, that we could save him. But he hurt Padmé. He’d loved her so much, and he almost killed her. So, I dueled him. And I won. But – I couldn’t bring myself to strike the killing blow. I left him to _burn_ , Sabé. I loved him like a son, like a brother, and I left him to burn on the shores of the lava flow. How could I do that?” she asked.

Sabé reached out and hugged her again.

“You were hurting, but you couldn’t bear to kill him. I wouldn’t be able to kill Padmé, or Rabé and the others, no matter what they’d done. I don’t blame you.”

Obi-Wan grimaced.

“C-3PO and R2 had somehow managed to get Padmé onto her ship. I piloted it and rendezvoused with Bail and Yoda at an out-of-the-way medical facility – Polis Massa. She was awake, but she was in labor. She gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, managed to name them, and then stopped breathing. The doctors got her back, but she’s in a coma now. They’re not sure she’s ever going to wake up, and they have no idea why. I suspect something to do with the Force, and Anakin, or possibly Palpatine. I don’t know. But she’s alive, and her children are alive…”

“And no one can know,” Sabé finished. “You need me to pretend to be her corpse.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan agreed. “More specifically, we need you to pretend to be her still-pregnant corpse. Anakin was so strong in the Force. His children – they’re like he was, like tiny suns. I’m taking them into hiding. Bail’s going to keep Padmé safe.”

“I’ll do it,” Sabé said firmly. “Give me five minutes – I have the supplies necessary to pretend to be Padmé while pregnant. Making sure I could still be her decoy if the news came out was one of the first things we did when she became pregnant. Help yourself to the kitchen, please. You look like hell,” she called as she disappeared further into the house.

Obi-Wan still wasn’t hungry – hadn’t been hungry since her troops had betrayed her, though she’d scarfed down a few ration bars to keep herself going – but she knew better than to refuse. There was fresh bread in the conservator and cold cuts of shaak in the cooling chamber, along with a selection of vegetables, so Obi-Wan assembled a sandwich and mechanically ate it. She knew that it should be delicious – Nabooian food always was, and she doubted Sabé kept expired food – but everything she ate tasted like sand. She’d thought it was just the ration bars.

Sabé reappeared just as Obi-Wan was drinking her second glass of water. She nearly choked on it. The woman in front of her was the spitting image of the woman she’d left behind on Bail’s ship, minus the medical devices.

“Well, you can certainly pull it off,” Obi-Wan said, pushing her grief at the sight aside. “Master Yoda has offered to put you into a trance using the Force that will make you appear dead to any sensors. Would you be willing to do it?”

“Of course,” Sabé said firmly. “Should we be leaving?”

Obi-Wan nodded.

“They weren’t far behind me, and you need to be in place as ‘Padmé’ by the time Bail finishes informing the Naberries and the Queen.”

“One moment,” Sabé said, disappearing into the back of the house once more. Obi-Wan finished her glass of water.

The handmaiden – former handmaiden – appeared again, this time with a large bag.

“What’s all this?” Obi-Wan asked bemusedly as Sabé handed it to her.

“I’ve been collecting baby things for Padmé for months,” she said. “You’ll need it. You can’t just abscond with a pair of newborns with no supplies.”

Obi-Wan nodded gratefully before offering her hand to Sabé.

“Take my hand,” she ordered. “I’m going to use the Force to hide us from any watching eyes, physical or mechanical.”

“The Force can do that?” Sabé said in surprise, though she took her hand.

Obi-Wan reached out and wrapped the Force around them in a familiar trick. She’d used the trick often enough throughout her life, but only the war had made using it for a companion or companions a common thing.

“Quietly now,” she told Sabé. “I’m only hiding us from sight; any sounds will still be heard.”

Sabé nodded. Obi-Wan knew that all the handmaidens, and Padmé herself, had been trained to walk quietly. They were spies as well as bodyguards.

They slipped out of the house and through the streets, dim in the pre-dawn light. They only passed a few people as they went, none of whom noticed their presence.

They arrived at the spaceport just as she caught sight of Bail’s familiar ship landing.

“This way,” Sabé hissed, guiding Obi-Wan unerringly through the port.

Bail was just descending the ramp as they arrived in the bay, accompanied by two of his guards. All three had grim looks on their faces. They had to dodge around the trio, though Obi-Wan tossed a pebble at Bail’s shoulder to let him know they were there.

Everything aboard the ship was quiet, but Obi-Wan waited to release their shadow until they were ensconced in the same room as Yoda and the twins.

“I’m ready to do my part,” Sabé told Yoda with a bow of her head before her gaze was drawn to the sleeping infants. She stepped towards them and leaned over their cribs to get a better look.

“They’re so tiny,” she breathed, reaching out to run a gentle finger over each baby’s cheek. “I hate that Padmé won’t be able to raise them.”

“They have to be hidden, Sabé,” Obi-Wan said grimly. “And with a Jedi, in order to mask their presences. Master Yoda and Bail wanted to separate them, but I refused.”

Sabé looked horrified.

“Of course you would! Separating twins is an offense to Naray and Shiraya!” she exclaimed.

Naboo’s sun and moon goddess were the source of the taboo the Naboo held against separating twins, just as the twin suns of Tatooine were the desert planet’s.

“Notice your absence, will anyone, while the Senator’s body you play?” Yoda asked.

Sabé shook her head.

“Padmé’s had me off-world on other assignments. I only got back last night, and I was undercover the whole time; I came back on a refugee ship. No one knew I was back, and no one but Padmé knew how to contact me. I can reappear a few days after the funeral with no one the wiser. I’ll be suitably horrified and grieving, before leaving again. I’ll be moving to Alderaan with my lady once it’s been long enough to be feasible,” Sabé said firmly.

Yoda hummed, and Obi-Wan could tell he wasn’t pleased, but they both knew that it would be impossible to change Sabé’s mind.

“Go, you must, Obi-Wan,” Yoda directed. “The children, you must take. Help Sabé into her false death, I will.”

“Hold on,” Sabé said, grabbing the bag she’d given Obi-Wan and rummaging around.

“Ah-hah!” she said, pulling out what looked to be a pair of long scarves triumphantly. “Baby wraps. You can bind the children around your chest so your hands are still free.”

“That sounds like the best plan,” Obi-Wan said with a relieved sigh. “Will you help?”

Between the two of them, it only took a few minutes to wrap the newborns snugly to Obi-Wan’s chest. The babies were face-to-face, curled up together as much as they were curled into Obi-Wan.

“In the trance, I must put you, Lady Sabé,” Yoda said quietly.

Sabé pressed a quick kiss to both babies’ heads, then kissed both of Obi-Wan’s cheeks.

“Be safe,” she said.

“I’ll have limited contact with Bail, once you’re on his staff,” Obi-Wan told her. “Be strong.”

Sabé laid down on the waiting bed – the same bed that Padmé had been on, though she and the medical instruments she was attached to her were in a different, more isolated room while inactive ones remained in this one.

“May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan,” Yoda told her, a final farewell.

“And with you, grandmaster,” she replied, crouching down – mindful of the twins – to press a kiss to the top of his head. “May we someday meet again.”

“Meet again, we may,” Yoda agreed.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, wrapped the Force around her once more, and left the ship, stopping only briefly to grab the droids – freshly painted in dull colors and made to look well-scuffed – and the bag she’d hastily packed at the Temple. She wrapped her Invisibility around them as well and continued out of the hangar bay. The ship was attracting curious looks from the spaceport staff, but there was no sign of Bail returning with the Naberries or government representatives.

She didn’t drop the Force Invisibility until she was on the other side of the spaceport, where the refugee transports arrived, and she threw up a Force Illusion at the same time, giving her and the twins the dark skin and blue eyes of Christophsians. Naboo was both a final stop and a waystation for many refugees, so there was no shortage of people waiting to board transports. Luckily, there were two already waiting and another arriving.

While the part of her in flight mode urged her to board the ship leaving as soon as possible, the precognition that had hounded her all her life had her choose the ship that was going to Darkknell, despite the fact that the planet had been Separatist until Mace’s forces had conquered it a few months before. Thankfully, the ship was still leaving within the hour, which she thought was fast enough to avoid the announcement of Senator Padmé Amidala’s death.

“How many?” the droid clerk at the ticket counter asked.

“Myself, two infants, two droids,” Obi-Wan said shortly.

The droid rung it up. Apparently, she was being charged for three seats. At least prices on such transports were reasonable on Naboo. While she and Yoda had collected everything they could from the Treasury room – which thankfully hadn’t been stolen from yet – the money wouldn’t last forever, and she’d need to use it to acquire identification papers later on. Refugee transports didn’t usually require them, since most understood that many refugees wouldn’t have any documentation with them.

“Name?” the droid asked.

“Ben Lars,” she said. “Do you need the others’?”

“Droid designations, yes. Not the infants,” the droid said. It sounded bored, though Obi-Wan knew that was probably just because of its monotone.

“Astromech D4-L4 and protocol droid P-AM1,” Obi-Wan said.

The ship was already boarding, so Obi-Wan made her way aboard and settled herself and the droids in a mostly-empty corner so that her back was to a wall. Feeling a faint twinge of hunger from a sleeping twin – she wasn’t sure which, with them so close together, both physically and in the Force – she rummaged through the bag from Sabé. There was baby clothing in two different sizes; a diaper bag that included disposable diapers, cloth diapers, baby wipes, diaper cream, and a changing pad; bottles, formula packets, bibs, burp cloths, and a first aid kit that was labelled ‘infant-friendly.’ There were even changes of clothes for her that must have come out of Sabé’s undercover closet, hygiene wipes that would make travelling on the transport for days much easier, some travel-sized personal hygiene products, and a large pile of credits. Obi-Wan made sure to bury the credits in different places in the bag, the diaper bag, and in her own clothing, using a Force illusion so no one could tell what she was doing.

“Ar-” she began, before correcting herself. “Deefour, please go get some warm water. I need to feed the babies.”

Artoo whistled quietly before rolling away.

“Is there anything I can do to help, Mistress?” C-3PO asked, his voice much quieter than normal.

“Not yet, Ayemye,” Obi-Wan said.

Her little corner filled up slightly over the next half hour. Artoo returned with water, which was thankfully warm enough to feed the babies. The other sentients on the transport would probably prefer cool water, especially once the transport with full and the air grew stuffy, but she was grateful she wouldn’t have to result to any other methods to warm the bottle.

She managed to undo the babies from their wrap without any assistance, but she resorted to placing one of the twins – bundled up in a combination of a blanket and the wrap – on Threepio’s lap with stern instructions not to drop him while she fed the other twin. She still wasn’t sure which was which, and probably wouldn’t until she had to change their diapers. They looked so alike at the moment.

When both babies were fed and burped, Obi-Wan wrapped them back up around her chest, even though she knew she’d have to take them out again in order to change their diapers at some point. She didn’t dare to have them lying on her lap. It was safer with them close to her.

“They look so young, dear,” an older woman sitting nearby said. “Is it your first time as a mother?”

“No,” Obi-Wan said with a sad smile, drawing out her vowels so that her crisp Coruscanti accent was instead an Outer Rim drawl. “I have two sons. One is with his father and the other is learning the family business from his aunt. These are my brother’s children. He died a few months ago, and his wife died in childbirth. I’m taking the children home with me.”

The woman made a sympathetic noise.

“How old are your boys?” she asked.

“The eldest is fourteen, the youngest will be thirteen in a few days,” she said.

She probably wouldn’t be able to call. If she was right about the ship’s hyperdrive, she’d still be in hyperspace. She had managed to grab his present from her quarters in the Jedi Temple though, so he’d probably forgive her.

Honestly, he’d probably forgive her just for showing up alive, which would also forgive showing up with new siblings in tow.

“Teenagers,” the old woman nodded sagely. “You’d best watch out! They’re a handful, especially the boys. And with babies at the same time…you’re going to have your hands full, and your husband’s too.”

“I’m sure I will,” Obi-Wan agreed.

The old woman, whom Obi-Wan eventually learned was named Kayta, was chatty in the way the elderly always were if they hadn’t had someone to talk to in a while. Kayta was also more than willing to hold the twins for a bit, which Obi-Wan agreed to by the second time she’d had to use the ‘fresher. She’d kept a tight lock on their Force signatures the entire time, but Kayta had done nothing more than coo at them. The worst they suffered was smelling of the perfume the woman used judiciously.

“Do be safe, dear,” Kayta urged as they finally landed on Darkknell, five days after leaving Naboo. “And keep the little ones safe too! I hope they like the hats I made them.”

Kayta knit, as well, and had made two hats for each baby, along with a pair of booties. The woman had done nothing the entire trip but sleep, eat, and knit. She’d talked while doing the last two as well, in a never-ending chatter about her late husband, her children, her grandchildren, the farm she’d grown up on, the conditions of the ship-board refresher, and anything else she could think of. Obi-Wan was grateful for her assistance, but after five days, she was ready to be done with the woman.

“I will,” she replied. “Thank you for your help, Kayta.”

“Goodbye, dear!” the woman called, waving her handkerchief delicately.

Obi-Wan did her best to smile back.

“Goodbye.”

She ducked into the crowd as quickly as possible, pulling her hood up over her head and down over her brow. She was still wearing her headscarf and her Christophsian disguise, but she could never be too careful. Artoo and Threepio followed close behind her.

“Where to, Mistress Ben?” Threepio asked.

“First, a comm booth so I can phone a friend. Then, we’ll find a hotel to stay in for a few nights – probably a lower-class one, since I don’t have any papers yet. If I have time, I’ll find a forger who can…”

She froze as she caught sight of a familiar and undeniable starship in the bay they were passing as they moved towards the spaceport exit.

If she were Corellian, she’d be praising Lady Luck, but it was obvious the Force had guided her – and her quarry – to this exact spot.

“Change of plans,” Obi-Wan said, throwing up a Force illusion to make it seem like they kept moving with the crowd while she pulled the droids with her into the docking bay. She dropped the Christophsian disguise at the same time. “We’re breaking into a ship.”

The _Firespray_ -class interceptor had been renamed the _Firebird_ after Obi-Wan had informed its pilot that his choice of name was too depressing. Granted, _Firebird_ was embarrassing, but only because it was named after her. She’d never liked _The Negotiator_ either, though she felt bad about it since the ship had been destroyed.

“Mistress Ben, are you sure that is the wisest idea?” Threepio fretted as she made her way to the loading ramp, followed by the droids. From Artoo’s beeps, he, at least, was thrilled about the idea of breaking into a ship.

“Don’t worry, Threepio,” she said, a hint of her normal accent slipping back into her words. “Everything will be fine.”

She tried her access codes first. Technically, they should have been removed since she was supposed to be dead, but she’d ‘died’ twice now, and was already planning a third, so she wasn’t surprised when the door opened.

“Come on, quickly now,” she said, ushering the droids in before closing the door behind her.

There was only one presence aboard the ship, and it was approaching fast.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” a young – but familiar – voice demanded, his words emphasized by the clicking of the safety on a blaster.

Obi-Wan held her hands up and turned around leisurely, before slowly raising her hands to her hood and pulling it and her headscarf down.

The newly-teenaged boy’s eyes widened in shock and he barely remembered to re-engage the safety before tossing the blaster aside and rushing her.

“Bu’ika!” he said, launching himself at her.

Obi-Wan turned so he’d hit her side instead, away from the babies tucked under her cloak.

“Easy, Bob’ika,” she said, running a hand through his curls as he frowned up at her for refusing his hug. She pulled her cloak aside, revealing the sleeping infants curled together against her chest. “They’re still very small.”

Boba’s eyes went wide.

“Babies?” he asked, wide-eyed. “Are they my vod’ike?”

“That’s my plan, though I do need to speak to your father first,” she said, ruffling his hair. “I’m waiting for his okay before saying the formal vows.”

“He’ll say yes,” Boba said, still staring at the sleeping twins. “He likes ad’ike. If he could’ve kept all of my vode, he would have.”

“Do you mind sacrificing your pallet to them, for the moment? I’d like to set them down so I can hug you properly,” Obi-Wan said.

Boba instantly darted away, though not before grabbing the blaster he’d hastily discarded and returning it to the weapons rack near the door. It wasn’t the only weapons rack on the ship – Obi-Wan knew of at least three, with concealed blasters in every room besides.

Obi-Wan followed him at a more sedate pace, the droids just behind her.

“Pardon me, Mistress Obi-Wan, but was that…Boba Fett?” C-3PO asked.

“Yes, Threepio. That was Boba Fett, and this is the ship that he and his father, Jango Fett, use,” Obi-Wan explained.

The droid was silent only for a second before saying, “Pardon me again, but I thought that Jango Fett was killed in the First Battle of Geonosis.”

Artoo whistled.

“Yes, Artoo, I know we were there,” C-3PO said.

“He faked his death,” Boba said as they entered the main room. “He was suspicious about the war, so he faked his death. We were retired, but now that I’m an adult, he’s taking me out on a couple easy jobs so I can learn to be a _beroya_ too.”

“I’m sorry for missing your birthday,” Obi-Wan said as she unwrapped the twins and laid them out on Boba’s pallet.

Boba only waited until she’d set them down before hugging her tightly. He was taller than her now, though not by much. He’d still been shorter than her the last time she’d managed to see him and Jango.

“You being alive is the best birthday present,” he mumbled, his face buried in her shoulder, though he had to slouch a bit to do so. “The Holonet said you were killed on Utapau.”

“They’ll probably end up releasing a bounty on my head soon enough,” Obi-Wan said. “I, unfortunately, revealed my continued survival to a high-ranking member of the new Empire.”

Boba pulled away enough to frown at her, though he didn’t let go.

“That wasn’t smart,” he chided.

“It couldn’t be helped, ad’ika,” she said, tapping his nose like she had when he was little. His face wrinkled.

“I’m _thirteen_ now, Bu’ika,” he groaned. “I’m an adult!”

“And a very handsome adult you are,” Obi-Wan agreed teasingly, placing her hand on his cheek. She laughed when he pulled away, disgruntled. “I have your birthday present for you,” she said, noticing how he perked up, “though it will have to wait a bit. I think it’s buried in diapers at the moment. Speaking of, it’s about time you learned to change diapers.”

“I think I need to comm Buir, and tell him you’re here,” Boba said quickly, but didn’t move away fast enough to avoid Obi-Wan grabbing his arm.

“Not so fast,” she said. “You can’t talk about me over an open line, no matter how secured. There’s too much of a risk one of you would say my name, and I don’t doubt that the… _Imperials_ are listening for it – or soon will be.”

“He doesn’t like surprises,” Boba warned.

“Boba, ad’ika, I’ve known your father since before you were born. I know exactly how well he responds to surprises,” Obi-Wan said calmly. “Now: diaper-changing.”

After Obi-Wan demonstrated diaper-changing on the first twin – Leia – and had Boba do the second twin – Luke – she asked, “Where is your father, anyway?”

“He’s at a bar, seeing what rumors he hears about the new Empire, and the Jedi, and…everything,” Boba said, his unspoken _you_ obvious. “We’ve been really worried. But he said Mando legal still doesn’t count as drinking age legal, so I have to suck it up and stay here. I’m glad though. It meant I got to see you first.”

Obi-Wan ruffled his hair.

“That you did. But the others still get to see me too. Have you heard from Bo-Katan since she helped invade Mandalore?”

“She said that Ahsoka captured Maul, and the 332nd left with him for Coruscant, and that was the last they heard of them,” Boba said. “She wanted Buir to come back as Mand'alor, to lead our people again. She’s Regent, currently, but she doesn’t want to be the Duchess. Nobody liked the duchy anyway. Buir said we’d go that way as soon as we finished up here. We were going to leave tonight.”

“I have excellent timing, then,” Obi-Wan said. “My plan was to find a comm booth and call you for a pick-up, but we walked past the ship before I found one. It worked out well.”

A ringing noises notified them that the ship hatch had been opened. All it took was a second’s glance with the Force for Obi-Wan to know who it was.

“It’s your father,” she told Boba, who was moving to get a weapon and go check.

Boba grinned boyishly and called out, “In here, Buir!”

“Boba,” Jango chided as he walked towards them, though he wasn’t visible yet. His voice was still modulated by his helmet. “You know you’re not supposed to assume that it’s me whenever the…” he froze as he turned the corner and caught sight of Obi-Wan.

“Hello, cyare,” she offered, smiling tiredly at him.

Jango ripped his helmet off and tossed it aside before rushing towards her, yanking her into his arms and spinning her around. “Gar su’cuyi,” he mumbled frantically into her ear. “Gar su’cuyi.”

“I’m here, beloved, I’m here,” Obi-Wan soothed. “I’m alive, no matter what the news reports say."

Their reunion was interrupted when one of the twins let out a cry.

Jango drew back from her, a look of confusion on his face.

“Riduur, what was that?” he asked as the other twin cried as well.

Obi-Wan stepped aside and gestured to where the infants were squealing on Boba’s pallet.

“How do you feel about adding twins to the family, cyare?”

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Su'cuyi - still alive  
> Bu'ika - diminutive of buir (parent); the equivalent of saying "Mommy" or "Daddy". I headcanon that Mandalorian children call one parent Buir and one Bu'ika, because it would get confusing otherwise.  
> Bob'ika - Little Boba  
> vod'ike - little siblings  
> ad'ike - little ones  
> vode - siblings (in this case, brothers)  
> beroya - bounty hunter  
> ad'ika - little one  
> Buir - parent (in this case, Father/Dad)  
> cyare - beloved  
> Gar su'cuyi - You're still alive.  
> riduur - spouse (wife)
> 
> I have other plans for this, both before this and after. We'll see when I actually get around to writing it. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought!


End file.
